Critique my hardscape Brazilian-Diorama Tank

[ChickenNugget88]

A while ago I posted a new iwagumi scape here. I've decided to rescape it after a while, here is the current look.
Took lots of effort to create that cave on the left and make a barrier for the soil using egg crate, filter foam and aquarium safe silicone.
Planning to add Rotala Wallichi in the background, since it will be a CO2 injected tank. Any feedback is appreciated!

 

[PARAGUAY]

Looks good and l believe these type are difficult to do Look forward to see it planted🙂

 

[shangman]

Really intrigued to see it planted, it's so dramatic!! Nice to see a really different and ambitious scape. With that big cave I'm sure the fish will be pleased too

 

[ChickenNugget88]

Tank is planted! This is taken on day 3. (Please excuse the few silicone stains, I will cover those up).
Plants: Rotala Wallichi, Myriophyllum Mattogrosense, Microcarpaea Minima, MC, DHG, A few small Crypt Parva and Christmas Moss.
The foreground at the bottom looks a little bare, any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Karmicnull]

Love the look of this scape - structurally epic! Maybe something red in the bottom right to give colour variation (e.g. ar mini etc )? Or something with a different texture like Pogostemon helferi?

 

[ChickenNugget88]

Tank has reached 2 week mark!
Brown algae has reared its ugly head, and I have added 3 cherry shrimp and 1 clithon snail to help. Will Amano shrimp be a good idea in this 10g tank? I am scared of them escaping the tank though.
Not to forget 7 lively ember tetras
I removed the myriophyllum as it was way too big and messy. Unfortunately couldn't find anything much for the foreground at my lfs, so hair grass, Christmas moss and parva will have to do for now. Monte Carlo also growing quite well in the mid ground. Apologise for the slight mess in the tank, this is after some maintenance. Rotalas are closed since its almost lights out time.
IIAC deadline is coming up, my original plan was to submit this tank... but may not be in time though.
Any suggestions/comments? Thanks!

 

[sparkyweasel]

Looking good.
Brown algae often appears after about two weeks. It usually dies off as the tank matures whether you do anything to tackle it, or just leave it alone.

 

[ChickenNugget88]

Also there's not been any visible growth on the Christmas moss. Any idea on how long it takes to transition from emersed to submersed?

 

[arcturus]

Also there's not been any visible growth on the Christmas moss. Any idea on how long it takes to transition from emersed to submersed?

The Vesicularia montagnei "Christmas Moss" is a slow growing moss species. It grows slower than the ordinary Java moss and will grow even slower if not exposed to at least moderate light, adequate fertilization and CO2. Since this is a new setup, you should be observing if the stem plants are healthy and growing instead of looking at a slow growing moss. You should also keep the light levels low until the aquarium is properly established, and that will take some time. Also review your fert regime and have a look at the CO2 levels since that drop checker is completely blue. You should also consider adding shrimp to help taking care of the algae, provided that the water parameters are already stable, which may not be the case after just two weeks of running time.

I removed the myriophyllum as it was way too big and messy.

I would not remove any stem plants. At most, trim them just a little bit to keep them under control if needed. Your aquarium is not yet established but you already have fish in it. These fast growing stem plants are critical to minimize the risk of a toxic ammonia or nitrite spike that can stress or kill the livestock (IMO, you should have waited several weeks before adding any type of fish to this aquarium...)

 

[ChickenNugget88]

Its been a while since I updated this thread. Tank is 6 weeks old, thought I would give an update.
Thank you Aructus for the feedback. I replaced the myriophyllum with rotala trimmings, and have started dosing Seachem Flourish N, P and K in addition to the current Seachem Fluorish comprehensive. I have ordered an external filter to upgrade from the current HOB filter, to help with CO2 distribution as well as to provide better quality filtration. I have installed a fan to lower water temperature as it can get quite hot here in Singapore.
Here are a few things that have happened:
1. Staghorn and green hair algae have appeared. I suspect lack of CO2 and ammonia from pest snails to be likely causes.
2. Pest snail population has exploded!
3. I sucked out all the soil from the foreground to accentuate the hight of the rocks, and added some HM in the back (stolen from my other tank).
4. Pulled out a rock from the bottom right and replaced with an Anubias (Not sure which species, also stolen from other tank) as I thought the scape was too symmetrical and the cave needed to be widened.Any feedback is appreciated!

 

[shangman]

The scape is looking really cool now plants are beginning to grow in!

If it were me I'd be looking at my flow with those types of algae, whether it's strong enough and if my CO2 is really getting everywhere like it should, and whether my filter needs a good clean. I've found Liquid Carbon spot treated daily works great to get rid of staghorn.

 

[ChickenNugget88]

Hi everyone,
I am making a few adjustments to the layout and will upload the updated picture of the scape in a few days.
In the meantime, I observe that the Monte Carlo stems are growing upwards and not forming a nice carpet, and I want to resolve this asap. Any ideas on why?